John Ritter, Marsha Mason and Nathan Lane bow with playwright Neil Simon at the June 26Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit in his honor. At left, Simon speaks at the gala.

Photo by Photos by Aubrey Reuben

John Ritter, Marsha Mason and Nathan Lane bow with playwright Neil Simon at the June 26Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit in his honor. At left, Simon speaks at the gala.

In a gala tribute to the playwright at the Broadway theatre bearing his name, stars Calista Flockhart, Rosemary Harris, Kristin Johnston, Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Marsha Mason, Debra Monk, Bebe Neuwirth, Bronson Pinchot, John Ritter, Ron Rifkin and Paul Rudd performed excerpts from Simon's ouevre, a body of work that includes some of the 20th Century's best known comedies - Plaza Suite, The Odd Couple, Biloxi Blues, The Sunshine Boys and Lost in Yonkers.